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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

More changes on the way

Yesterday I showed you our dining room as it has been for (for the most part) during the eight years that we have lived here in this post. And now here is my plan for mixing the room up.

The table, our much beloved chairs, and paint color will stay. If I were doing it all over again, I would paint all of our rooms a soft gray instead of a soft beige, but we aren't planning on redoing that at this time (our house is very open concept and it would just be too big of a job to start). Fortunately, we are bringing in lots of moody gray pieces to make the space feel richer--using the photo in the upper left as our inspiration.

I always thought the scale of the room was off, so we are bringing in massive prints of agate to give the wall interest. We have a big debate in our family about art. Mr. 31-derful thinks that it has to be "real," meaning that he thinks a somewhat-known artist has to have created it or that it must be a signed numbered print of the same. I on the other hand care about the size of a piece and the balance it creates in a room. Sadly, to get "real" art in the large size we need is above our pay grade! Finally conceding this, Mr. 31-derful is giving in and we are getting something like these prints from Grandin Road .

We have never had drapes/curtains as we wanted the aesthetic to be extremely clean. Now that I want to add more visual interest I wanted drapes. Our window is not a standard size and we have to do custom. I got JC Penny to come out and design custom ones for me. I know that the words " JC Penny" and "custom" don't seem go together, but I have heard for years that they are a decorators secret. My parents used them when I was a kid and I still remember the excitement of the decorator coming with oodles of fabric books and samples. It was just as exciting to have her come to my house once I was an adult! Penny's was way less than other custom drape stores--we will see how it goes!

Finally the biggest change is that these pieces will be gone:

I listed them for sale like this: "Loved continuously by one non-smoking, pet-free family for the past seven decades. Structurally the pieces are sound with original solid wood, dove-tail construction. The pieces are showing wear, however, including a chip in the veneer of the bachelor's chest. It is good furniture and probably deserves to be lovingly restored or repainted. We just don't want to invest the kind of money to restore because the rest of our home is contemporary. And I can't bring myself to chalk paint over 70 years of family memories, but you should! " I honestly hope another family loves on these pieces like we did!

In the place of the storage pieces will be a new, totally custom piece that is being made for me by a master woodworker. We are combining elements of the two buffets pictured at the bottom of my update page and I can't wait to see how it comes out!

How often do you update your decor and home? Was waiting eight years too long, too short or just about average, I wonder.....

About Me

Hi, I am S. Long ago I planned to study social work, get a law degree, and marry a fellow professional when I graduated. We were supposed to effortlessly have two awesome careers, save the world, and a make family. I did most of that--I have a bachelors and masters in social work, married my law school sweetheart, worked for a decade as a children's advocacy attorney, and we do have two precious girls!! To my surprise, my career is mostly a SAHM and most days all I try to "save" is my own sanity! For two decades I have been a near professional volunteer in addition to my actual work. I briefly tried to be an "event stylist." I am currently using this blog to help me figure out my next big plan.